Early detection of low blood oxygen is critical in the medical field, for example in critical care and surgical applications, because an insufficient supply of oxygen can result in brain damage and death in a matter of minutes. Pulse oximetry is a widely accepted noninvasive procedure for measuring the oxygen saturation level of arterial blood, an indicator of oxygen supply. A pulse oximeter typically provides a numerical readout of the patient's oxygen saturation and pulse rate. A pulse oximetry system consists of a sensor attached to a patient, a monitor, and a cable connecting the sensor and monitor. Conventionally, a pulse oximetry sensor has both red (RD) and infrared (IR) light-emitting diode (LED) emitters and a photodiode detector. The pulse oximeter measurements are based upon the absorption by arterial blood of the two wavelengths emitted by the sensor. The pulse oximeter alternately activates the RD and IR sensor emitters and reads the resulting RD and IR sensor signals, i.e. the current generated by the photodiode in proportion to the detected RD and IR light intensity, in order to derive an arterial oxygen saturation value, as is well-known in the art. A pulse oximeter contains circuitry for controlling the sensor, processing the sensor signals and displaying the patient's oxygen saturation and pulse rate.